Chapter 16: Confessions

The restaurant was empty. All of France was at home, watching the national soccer team play Greece for a place in the semi-finals. The soccer fans would probably dine a little later tonight. Right now, we had the restaurant to ourselves.

As expected, Ramon had agreed to my suggestion to try the Korean barbecue restaurant which had opened recently in the neighbourhood. The restaurant had been Caroline's idea; I knew as little about Korean food as Ramon. Just like Caroline had told me, each table was located in its own little booth. Bead curtains at the entrance to the dimly-lit stalls added to the sense of privacy. Circular, gas-fired grills, looking like perforated iron domes, were set into the low tables. Guests were encouraged to remove their shoes before they accommodated themselves on the cushions on either side of the table.

The explanations on the menu were not very informative and the waitress, dressed in the traditional costume of her country, although eager to help, had only a limited command of the French language. In the end we left it up to her to choose the dishes for us. We only specified that we wanted a meal for two people with a healthy appetite.

As soon as we had placed our order, I made my excuses and left our booth in search of the toilet. I had only walked two steps when I bumped into Caroline.

"Jacqueline!" she shrieked, loud enough to be heard in the entire restaurant. "You're in Paris! Didn't you say you were going to spend the weekend with your parents?"

I mumbled something about a change of plan.

"What a coincidence," Caroline observed, "The two of us in the same restaurant, each one at her own table. Why don't you come and join me?"

"Sorry, Caroline, I can't. I'm not here on my own."

"Oh, I see," she exclaimed. "You brought a colleague from the university to keep you company. Is she pretty?"

Without waiting for an answer she poked her head through the bead curtain to see who was in there. She withdrew her head immediately, saying, "Sorry, wrong booth."

Turning to me, she whispered, much louder than necessary, "There's a man in there! Didn't you tell me you weren't into men?"

Her acting skills surprised me. I had not expected her to play her part so convincingly.

"Jacqueline," came Ramon's voice from inside the booth, "Why don't you invite your friend to join us for dinner? There's always room for another person at our table." It sounded more like an order than an invitation.

Caroline winked at me as I lead her into the booth. I returned to my place and Caroline sat next to me, facing Ramon diagonally across the table. Their hands barely touched when I did the introductions. They greeted each other with the cool politeness that is normally reserved for strangers and enemies.

"Have you ordered yet, Mademoiselle?" Ramon inquired.

Caroline said she had only just arrived and Ramon called the waitress. Caroline asked, "Are you having the bulgogi?" We had no idea what we were going to eat, but the waitress confirmed that we were, indeed, going to have the bulgogi.

"In that case," Caroline told the waitress, "I'll have the same they have ordered. Just bring an extra portion of everything."

As soon as the waitress had left, Ramon turned towards Caroline. "Excuse me for being nosey, Mademoiselle, but I couldn't help overhearing your conversation. It seems that you know Jacqueline quite well."

"Oh, yes," Caroline said emphatically. "We've met regularly ever since she took me to Le Chambre Séparée."

I could see Ramon flinch when Caroline mentioned the prime adult entertainment venue. He probably had already suspected that this wasn't a tea-and-biscuits friendship, but now he was certain.

"When was that?" he asked.

"October eighth of last year," Caroline answered. "And how long have you known her, Monsieur?"

"I've been dating Jacqueline since the fifth of July, that's almost a year ago."

I was stunned. These two people remembered the exact day when they first met me. And neither of them had to think hard to come up with the respective date. It dripped off their tongues without hesitation, like they might remember their mothers' birthday or the date of the storming of the Bastille. Did this mean I mattered to these two people, that my presence actually made a difference?

"Dating?" Caroline asked. "Does that mean you are... ," she hesitated for a moment, "... intimate?"

"Yes, it does," Ramon confirmed. "How about you?"

"Most certainly."

Caroline looked at me. "I can't tell you how mad I am at you, Jacqueline. You told me you weren't interested in men and gave me this story about having to visit your parents every weekend. And now it turns out that you've had a relationship even before we met. And it looks like your boyfriend didn't know about me either. It appears that you've been cheating on both of us. You ought to have your bottom thrashed until it turns purple!"

Obviously furious with me, Caroline turned to Ramon. "Will you spank her, Monsieur, or will you allow me to do it?"

"Seeing that my rights are of longer standing, I will make sure she'll get the punishment she deserves. I'm not a big fan of spanking or other forms of physical punishment, though. I believe there are better, more efficient means."

"May I be present when it happens, Monsieur?"

"That's part of my plan," Ramon promised. "By the way, there is no need to keep calling me 'Monsieur'. My name is Ramon."

"Caroline," Caroline said and held out her hand. As they shook hands this time, I could sense an electric spark, the exchange of erotic energy between them. They held the handshake for much longer than necessary, their eyes locked into each other, as if they wanted to erase their first, hostile, handshake.

"Ramon," Caroline repeated. She seemed to be thinking aloud. "That's not a very common name. You wouldn't be Ramon, the fashion designer?"

When Ramon confirmed that he was indeed the fashion designer, Caroline was ecstatic. "How exciting! I'm wearing one of your creations at this very moment."

Caroline unbuttoned her blouse and revealed a magnificent lacy bra. If the garment was intended to conceal the beauty of her full breasts, then it failed miserably to accomplish its task. The stiffness of her nipples betrayed Caroline's excitement.

When the waitress arrived carrying a tray laden with a multitude of small dishes, Caroline buttoned her blouse hastily. I could tell from Ramon's face that he had enjoyed Caroline's little show of exhibitionism and was sorry that she cut it short.

The waitress showed us how we could control the temperature of the grill and demonstrated how to cook the food to our liking. Caroline assured her that she was an old hand at Korean food and would show us the ropes.

"Well," Ramon said, "Let's enjoy our meal first. Then, I suggest, we all go to my apartment. There I will make love to my most beautiful customer, and afterwards I'll decide what measures to take to get this juvenile delinquent straightened out."

Caroline didn't say a word. She simply lowered her eyelids a little and bowed her head in agreement. I was sure that the wetness of her pussy was already seeping through her panties.

Ramon turned to me. "I'm just as mad at you as your friend, Jacqueline. Since I met you for the first time, I haven't touched any other woman. I felt I owed you this much respect. I want you to know that it hurt me deeply to find out that you did not find it necessary to exercise the same restraint. Tonight, you will watch me make love to your friend. This will be part of your punishment."

I ate my meal in silence, speaking only when either Ramon or Caroline addressed me, looking down on my plate, not daring to lift my head. The two, however, kept a lively conversation going, exchanging information about themselves, praising the quality of the food, talking about their favourite restaurants, music they liked, books they had read. They behaved exactly like two people on their first date.

I had been on an emotional roller coaster ever since Ramon invited Caroline to join us. There were so many conflicting messages, I didn't know what to expect. Ramon had spoken of his rights. Did this mean he had finally accepted his ownership of me?

The two had been talking about me in my presence without addressing me directly, something I used to hate as a child. It had always made me angry when adults passed judgement about me over my head: 'Jacqueline is a good pupil but she's a little too quiet. She needs to mix more with her classmates.' Now Ramon had commented on me like he was talking about a badly behaved child.

I noticed that Ramon hadn't asked Caroline if she wanted to go to bed with him, he had just told us he was going to make love to her. This was very similar to what happened when he met me the first time. Was he thinking of dumping me and putting Caroline in my place? But he had called me a 'juvenile delinquent'. That would indicate that he put my failings down to my immaturity. He had also talked about getting me straightened out. If he planned to dump me then there was no need to straighten me out. I took his comment as I sign that he planned to continue our relationship.

Caroline was playing her role magnificently. The way she had faked surprise when Ramon revealed his identity was worthy of an Oscar nomination. I had to admit that she deserved her prize, a night with Ramon. But what did he mean when he said there were more efficient means of punishment than spanking? What did he have in store for me?

Only once did their conversation return to me, or rather to the punishment I was going to receive. Caroline asked, "Why don't you approve of spanking as a form of punishment?"

"Our body has very sophisticated mechanisms to avoid or reduce pain. When a part of the body is beaten repeatedly over a long period, that part becomes insensitive to pain. Sometimes the body just learns to ignore the pain, sometimes the skin actually thickens. The calluses on labourer's hands are an example of this. The skin of Jacqueline's bottom - and I'm sure yours too - is as smooth and soft as that of sun-ripened peach. I don't want it to become like the rind of a lemon. That would be a crime against female beauty.

"That doesn't mean I would never spank Jacqueline, or let her feel the bite of a whip. I just don't consider spanking the first and most effective option.

"Jacqueline's bottom is not responsible for her sins - her mind is. She's allowed the desire for sexual pleasure to dominate her. Satisfying her lust has become more important than respecting the people who care for her. We have to re-educate her mind, teach her that she is paying too high a price, that sex without affection isn't worth disappointing those who love her."

On the way to the apartment I was relegated to the backseat while Caroline sat next to Ramon in the front. I noticed how eager she was to display her beautiful legs, but, just as on my first ride with Ramon, he didn't use the opportunity to feel her up.

As soon as we arrived in Ramon's apartment, he said, "Take of your clothes, Jacqueline."

I followed Ramon's instruction without hesitation. He brought a wastepaper basket from his studio and told me to put my clothes into it.

"This basket will stay here, in the entrance hall. From now on, you will remove all your clothes as soon as you arrive and only put them back on when you leave. You will remain naked as long as you are here. Only under special circumstances will you be permitted to cover yourself."

Ramon lead Caroline into the sitting room and told her to make herself at home while he was 'taking care' of me. He got a straight-backed chair without armrests from the kitchen and carried it to the raised platform. There he told me to sit down on the chair, facing the bed. From a bag in his wardrobe he produced several pieces of rope and tied my arms behind my back and then fastened them to the chair back. Then he made me spread my legs, pulled them back and tied each ankle to one of the hind legs of the chair. This left me in a position where I was unable to move and my breasts and pussy were pushed forward.

Ramon made sure I was immobilized, but took care not to interrupt the flow of blood to my hands and feet. I did not offer any resistance to his tying me up. How could I? He had finally started to give me orders and had talked about punishing me. This was what I had wanted for such a long time! Even though, I couldn't help feeling apprehensive about what he was planning to do to me. Ramon said, "I love you, Jacqueline. I'm doing this for your own good," and gave me a kiss on the mouth.

This demonstration of affection was much too short, much too fleeting. I wanted to follow his lips as they moved away from me but the ties kept me back. The ropes cutting into my wrists and arms as I tried to move forward brought it home to me that this wasn't a game of make-believe. I was tied up for real.

Having dealt with me, Ramon returned to the living area and apologized to Caroline for having left her on her own. I couldn't see them from where I was tied up, but I could hear every word they spoke. Ramon offered Caroline a drink but she declared she only wanted to drink the kisses from his lips. Nevertheless, she accepted a glass of Champagne to celebrate their lucky encounter. Caroline said, "Don't be too harsh on Jacqueline. If it wasn't for her, we might never have met."

There was a long silence - the kind of silence I associated with a tight embrace and a long passionate kiss - then they both came up the stairs towards the bed. They were both still fully dressed, only the top buttons of Caroline's blouse and Ramon's shirt were undone. It made me reflect on the fact that I had hardly ever made it up these stairs with any item of clothing still in place. I wondered why Ramon hadn't completely undressed Caroline before carrying her up the stairs. I soon realized what the reason was: he wanted me to watch them undress each other.

That was exactly what they did. They made a show of removing each other's clothes amidst showers of kisses and caresses. When Caroline was down to her underwear, Ramon stepped back and exclaimed, "This is frightening! I didn't know you when I designed this set, yet it looks as if it had been made especially for you."

Caroline blushed. "That's just a lucky coincidence. After all, women's bodies aren't that different from one another."

I had to admit that Caroline looked exceptionally sexy in her underwear. But then she always did. She probably knew that her body was just made to bring out the best in Ramon's creations - and Ramon's creations were made to enhance the beauty of her sensual body. That's why she had such a large collection of sexy lingerie and couldn't stop looking at herself in the mirror. My only regret was that today it wouldn't be me who would peel these lacy nothings off her.

When Caroline was completely naked, she helped Ramon shed his clothes and they started to caress each other in earnest. I heard Caroline gasp in anticipation when she saw Ramon's impressive cock, rock hard and ready for action.

To watch these two beautiful people make love was a magnificent spectacle. I saw Ramon's gentle but determined hands, which I had felt so many times on my body, caress Caroline. I saw her offering her proud, stiff nipples to his mouth and watched him accept the offer. I saw her long, slender legs wrap around his hips as he thrust his cock into her wet hole.

Ramon was absolutely spot on when he decided what the most cruel form of punishment for me would be. Oh, how I wanted to join the two on the bed, if only to lie next to Caroline and comfort her as I listened to her moans! How I wished that it were me lying on that bed, that it were my nipples being sucked, that it were my pussy being fucked. I would have accepted any role in their love play without hesitation. But I was condemned to remaining tied to the chair, unable to touch them or even myself.